Coronavirus Inspires Vegetable Gardening
With Americans staying at home and avoiding the grocery store during COVID-19 fears, more people than ever are planting vegetable gardens. Many are first-time gardeners with tons of questions, like which vegetables to choose and how much to plant per person. (1)
Growing your own food means that you’ll have fresh produce throughout the summer and fall. And canning food means you’ll continue to provide for your family through the winter. (1)
Home gardener Jameson Altott told NPR, “We are lucky to have preserved a lot of food and we still have canned fruits and vegetables and jams and berries in the freezer and meat in the freezer.” Altott grows more than half of the food his family consumes in his home garden. (1)
Gardening also comes with benefits for your mental health. N. Astrid Hoffman, who works for The Living Seed Company, told The Mercury News, “The act of planting a seed is an act of faith in tomorrow. During this time of limited movement, a garden is a place to find solace, joy and wonder, and hopefully some great things to eat.” (2)
And plenty of people are ready to take advantage of the benefits of vegetable gardening. George Ball, the executive chairman of the Burpee Seed Company, told NPR, “We’re being flooded with vegetable orders.” (1)
Ball shared that he has noticed similar increases in seed sales during other challenging times, such as the 1987 stock market crash. But this is the biggest surge he has ever seen. (1)
Starting a Vegetable Garden
I am one of the many people planting their first vegetable garden this spring. I’ve dreamed of growing my own fruits and vegetables for years, but I haven’t had the time or space until now. I actually planned a garden and bought seeds last year, but planning a wedding took more time than I thought it would. My husband and I got married, but my vegetable garden did not come to fruition.
I already knew I wanted to try again this year, but I had no idea how much extra time I’d have to dedicate to a garden. As soon as my hometown went under a stay-at-home order, I started some seeds in a south-facing window in my living room.
Plenty of the seeds I’ve started indoors have begun to sprout. And once the danger of frost is over this week, I’ll be ready to plant some garden beds in our backyard. But I have very little idea of what I’m doing. And I’m nervous about making big mistakes when success feels more important than ever.
Fortunately, gardening experts know that there are lots of people like me looking for guidance. I scoured the Internet for the best tips for beginner gardeners. This is what I found: (2)
- Container gardening is a great solution for growing food in a small space. You can plant either a tomato plant, one to two zucchini plants, or two to three pepper plants in one 15-gallon pot.
- Place raised beds or containers in sunny spots. Your plants will need six to eight hours of sun each day to grow to their full potential.
- Plant flowers to attract pollinators to your garden.
- Enrich your soil with compost, which you can buy in bags.
- Save money on seeds by growing plants from food scraps. You can grow new plants from specific parts of celery, lettuce, onions, peppers, ginger, potatoes, and more.
How Much to Plant Per Person
One of the greatest questions for a new gardener is how much to plant per person. You want all of your time and effort to be worth it and grow enough food for your family. But you also don’t want to grow too much and let produce go to waste.
The number of plants you need per person varies by the type of produce. The following numbers can be used as a general guide for how much to plant: (3)
- Asparagus: 5-10 plants per person
- Bush beans: 12-15 plants
- Beets: 15-30 plants
- Cucumber: 1 vine, 2 bushes
- Carrots: 48 plants
- Corn: 10-15 plants
- Eggplant: 2-3 plants
- Leaf lettuce: 24 plants
- Melon: 1-2 plants
- Onion: 12-20 sets
- Peas: 15-20 plants
- Pepper: 3-5 plants
- Potato: 10 plants
- Spinach: 30-60 plants
- Squash: 1-2 plants
- Tomato: 2-4 plants
- Zucchini: 1-2 plants
The reality is, you probably won’t get the amount of planting perfect in your first year as a gardener. It will probably take a few years to figure out just how much you need to plant per person. But if you end up with fresh fruits and vegetables for your first harvest, you can consider your garden a success. (4)
